Last week a patient on my ward was discharged home and I went up to the ward to go through the medicines with her. She was going back to the care of her dedicated daughter who was there to hear all about the medications changes. The patient, despite being in her late 80s, was still sharp and with it and until only a year earlier had looked after all her medications herself, which is very impressive.
I admire patient’s who take the initiative and really get to know their medications and take charge of their own health. It just adds another layer of checking to the medication system which can be vital.
So I sat down with the daughter to educate her about the current medication regimen, with the patient listening in and nodding.
And although I was there to teach, I learnt a whole lot!!
First medication. The dose of prazosin has been reduced to once a day rather than twice a day as it was when she came into hospital, I say. Why has it been reduced when she’s had high blood pressure while she’s been in here? she asked. Well, I was taking over from another pharmacist and didn’t know the answer. Did she know what the blood pressure had been, had she seen the chart? I ask, stalling. No but she just knew that it had been. So I get the obs chart which shows an occasional reading of high blood pressure, maybe one in 5 or 6 so I explain that treating those one off higher blood pressure readings to bring them down to normal would put her mother at high risk of low blood pressure the majority of the time, which explains why they dropped the dose. But the kidney specialist put her on that dose, she says. I understand that, I say, but blood pressure changes and so the dose has to be changed to adapt; I’m more than happy for her specialist or GP to change the dose at the next appointment if that’s appropriate. Oh well, it was probably just high while she was in hospital, they’ve treated her horribly, I’m told!
This is always a big disappointment to hear, because I’ve gotten to know a lot of the nurses on this ward and I’ve seen how they care for their patients, even the difficult and hard patients. This patient was easy and lovely so I find this hard to swallow. I’m not saying that awful patients are treated worse, but I’m saying if the nurses can do their best for stressful patients, I’m sure they would have given outstanding care to this sweetie.
Really? I ask, surprised. Oh yes, she nods, and her mother, the patient, nods. We’ve had the most terrible time while she’s been in hospital! Well I’m very sorry to hear that, I respond. Oh it’s not your fault dear, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.
Second medication. This is the anti-fungal cream that we’ve been applying three times a day to your mother’s groin (sorry people, TMI) to treat the rash, I start. Oh yes, do you know that those nurses left her in a wet nappy overnight, for 8 hours?? How terrible is that, she asks me, starting to wind up the tone and intensity? Really? I ask again, because I just find it very hard to believe. The patient nods, yes that’s what happened. Well I’m very sorry about that, I say, that shouldn’t have happened. I wonder out loud to the patient, did you tell the nurse about it? No, she shakes her head. The daughter chimes in, she doesn’t like to bother anyone.
For serious???
You are complaining, and I find out later that there’s an official complaint, or rather several official complaints, about wrongdoing by the nurses but you just sit there and let it all happen when you have a mouth that you are fully capable of using, and a hand to press the buzzer, and surely a desire to not sit in urine for 8 hours just for the sake of not using your voice or your hand!! I find that ludicrous, and really, unacceptable. This isn’t about victim blaming by the way, the incident happened no doubt about it, but it’s about why it shouldn’t have happened and it could have been prevented.
We have patients that can’t speak, or can’t put their thoughts into coherent speech, or can only make sounds, or who take what feels like forever to get the words out. We have patients who are immobile, paralysed, unable to move their limbs, or unable to know what to do to get help. She ain’t one of them!
I don’t think anyone likes to make a fuss, or a scene, or a big deal, or call attention to themselves, complain or whine. Maybe the odd person. But this isn’t about that. This is about bringing attention to an issue that needs to be fixed for the sake of your health. You aren’t putting someone out, or bothering them, the nurses are there to help; that’s their job! If they have something more pressing to do, they’ll let you know and come when they can. But the 8 hours overnight that she stayed in that wet nappy are the quietest hours in the hospital. Often nurses don’t have much to do other than be on call for patients…so call them!
Again, not victim blaming but a patient has to take responsibility for their care. If the nurse doesn’t know the nappy is wet, she won’t come and change it for a dry one. You aren’t a baby, your parent doesn’t come along and stick a hand down your pants into your nappy to check if its wet; it’s not someone else’s job to come by every 20 minutes to ask if you need a change. You’re an adult. You tell someone when you need something, right? No, apparently not! And this was only the start of it…
Medication number three. Trying to move along and get past that one. Codeine has been stopped while your mother has been in hospital, I start. Yes I know, that’s why she’s been in pain the whole time she’s been in hospital, she counters. Oh my, here we are again! Who leaves their mother in pain for 8 weeks instead of saying something? Who doesn’t speak up for themselves when they’re in pain? Oh I didn’t want to make a fuss, says the patient. Give me strength!! You either weren’t and aren’t in pain because if you actually were and are you would be begging for help, or you are competing in some martyr awards that I haven’t heard of! You don’t sit there in pain and not say anything. Do you? Am I on the right train here? Well, codeine is not the best pain killer, I try to continue, and we weren’t aware of any pain. She certainly hasn’t requested any pain relief. And I think, although nurses, doctors and allied health staff may be brilliant, we still can’t read minds! Surely anyone can see that making an official complaint about a patient being denied pain relief when no one knew that the patient was in pain isn’t quite logical!! And don’t tell me that she was never asked if she was in pain. It’s a rehab and geriatric progress ward, every pain is continually asked about pain, about their bowels, and obs are taken regularly. It all seems so unnecessary!
Well, what a way to start the day! I did get through the rest of the meds eventually, but I was ready to get out of there!
Didn’t want to make a fuss, didn’t want to bother anyone, didn’t want to get in the way, didn’t want to be a burden. I get that. Sometimes it’s hard to speak up when you need something. But you can’t have both sides, not speaking up AND making official complaints against care givers. I believe in the complaints process and wouldn’t discourage anyone from making a valid complaint. But this feels like making a scene over something that could have been nipped in the bud at the start. It feel like an attack on the nurses who try their very best, and who couldn’t have prevented any of it without the patient doing their part.
So maybe its something more people need to know about – for your own health’s sake, you need to speak up. Don’t wait til discharge to complain about problems when you never did your side of the job in speaking to your nurse during your hospital stay. It’s a two way street, nurses aren’t psychic so you need to tell them what’s on your mind. Is it too much to ask?
L i f e - be IN it! 